The Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway will be Travis Kvapil’s first taste of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series restrictor plate racing in 2012. Kvapil is excited to return to the traditional, multi-car pack racing that once dominated the 2.66-mile superspeedway and knows that it’s a good opportunity for his No. 93 Burger King/Dr Pepper team to shine.
Kvapil has eight NSCS starts at Talladega under his belt. His best finish is sixth place, which he achieved in 2008. Kvapil has one pole (2008) and has led laps in four events, including two of the last three races.
The No. 93 BK Racing team is 29th in the owner point standings following the Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Comments from BK Racing Driver Travis Kvapil heading to Talladega Superspeedway:
“With the changes that were implemented at Daytona (International Speedway) this season, it has set us up for a different style of racing at Talladega. It’s going to be more of the traditional, big-pack, restrictor plate racing that we’ve seen in years past. The two-car tandem is still an option, but it will only work for a couple of laps at a time. I think that might still be the winning move, but it’s still going to be the old style for most of the race, the big 30-and 40-car packs. Hopefully everything goes okay and no one makes a mistake because that’s how the big accidents happen.
“For BK Racing, this will be a chance for us to run up front and run in the top-10 all day. We haven’t sat down and had a strategy meeting, but I’ll probably just go out there and try to stay up front and try to lead laps. We want to give BK Racing, Burger King and Dr Pepper a good showing. I’ve tried hanging in the back and waiting to miss the big one and I’ve tried staying up front to avoid trouble; it’s really just a matter of luck whether you make it through the wrecks or not. For a young team like ours, Talladega and places like that are tracks that we can have really good runs. Anything can happen. Realistically we can go there and win that race. It’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, staying out of trouble and being there at the end of the day.
“One of the new rules from Daytona was that we couldn’t talk to other drivers during the race. It’s going to change a few things, but we really didn’t get to take advantage of that for very long. It was only around for a few races. I guess it’s just going to go back to how we used to do it. Whoever you’re around is who you draft with. Obviously, having Landon (Cassill) as our teammate makes him our go-to partner, and vice versa. Really what it comes down to, though, is who you’re around, how many laps are left, which lane is moving and making those moves to get in the right spot. The radio frequencies were nice. You could lay your strategy out and talk to another driver and discuss your plan and when you wanted to make your move. Now it’s going to be more like a few years ago where you and your spotter are on your own, so I don’t think the change will be that big of a deal.”
BK Racing PR
- Talladega Superspeedway Weekend Schedule - April 14, 2024
- Odd Tony Stewart Talladega Post Race Q&A - May 7, 2012
- Team Chevy Post Talladega Race Rundown - May 7, 2012